My Personal Experience

My Personal ExperienceI’ve seen many of my immigrant friends (1) ___________because they cannot get a job.  Some have had to become cleaners or child care assistants even though they have a university degree and a successful career in their home country.  Not feeling good about your work will greatly affect your longevity in Norway.  Many ‘qualified’ immigrants return to their home country beaten, jobless and (2) ___________.  I thought My Personal Experience might give you a good taste of what job seeking and work can be like in Norway as an ‘immigrant’ with education and no language.
A bit of background: I have a degree and a couple of (3) _________________ diplomas – all in dramatic arts and media.  I also have experience and general qualifications in the hospitality industry.  Education and 20 years experience in dancing.  All my education has been obtained in English speaking countries.
When I first came to Norway I couldn’t work for over eight months as I was waiting for my (4) ____________ application to be approved.  I was sponging off Moose for this time…lol.  As soon as I was able to, I applied for a couple of jobs in my field of work.  The employers were very excited about my qualifications and education but as soon as they found out I couldn’t (5) ____________ they turned me down.  I applied for a similar job in another city and got it – in my contract it said I had to learn Norwegian.  Moose had to quit his job (as I’d be making more than him) and we had to move to a small town (6) ___________ of the country.  This made it hard for Moose to find a job.  Even though he IS Norwegian and speaks the language, (7) _________ don’t have very many jobs available.  It is very usual to have to move from city to city for jobs in Norway – but it is even more usual for one partner to have to give up a (8) ___________ for the other partner.  It is a sacrifice that is necessary to be together in the same city.  Eventually Moose got a job in media.  I worked and did one night a week of Norwegian classes but I wasn’t learning anything.  After all that, we decided to move to London for Moose to study.  More sacrifices.  We both quit our jobs (and our lovely pay) to live like students in London.
In London, I worked as a Chef at a pub and restaurant – using my (9) __________ education and gained some more qualifications while there.  Moose put his Norwegian language to good use and worked part-time as a (10) ___________.  Then a year later we moved back to Norway because we were expecting our first child together.  (We wanted Lilu to be Norwegian.)  I was ‘unemployable’ being pregnant but I also couldn’t get maternity leave because I hadn’t been employed in Norway the year leading up to the pregnancy (as we were in London).  So Moose studied and worked.
Before having the baby I did three months of full-time Norwegian language.  After having the baby, I applied for a part-time job as a Chef.  I didn’t get the job (because… well, a lot of their questions were about me doing my job as (11) ___________)).  Not wanting a full-time job, I started freelancing as a dance teacher.  I also became very active in the dance community.  I became a producer of a festival because of my willingness to get involved, I participated in the film industry and also studied part-time at the university.  Through my contacts I have been offered numerous jobs in dance and have also been offered a couple of full-time arts jobs – (12) ____________ me not knowing Norwegian.  However, I do live in a small city so I will likely have to create my own work.  (I’m not ready to work full-time yet as I have just had another baby) but in the future I know that my connections will make it a lot easier for me to get a job instead of having to ‘rely on the kindness of strangers’.  I am extremely aware that if I learn Norwegian it will make things 1000 times easier for me to get a good job.
a new mother
Broken
cookery trade
despite in a great amount of debt
in the middle
lesser paying job
postgraduate
residency permit
smaller cities
speak Norwegian
translator